Wildcats shine in season-opening Multi

CHICO>> The first event of a highly anticipated track and field season began Thursday for decathletes and heptathletes at the Chico Multi Classic at University Stadium.

Two-time defending NCAA Division II Champion J Patrick Smith from Chico State headlined the competitor list, which also included NCAA championship contenders Theodore Elsenbaumer and John Brunk. Elsenbaumer finished ninth at the championships last season, while Brunk finished fourth in 2012.

Other notable competitors in the decathlon field were Adam Nikssarian from Chico State, Mark Thayer from Butte College and Teigan Eilers, who was running unattached.

The first day was comprised of five events, including the 100-meter dash, long jump, shot put, high jump and 400.

Smith crushed the first event with a 100 time of 10.95 seconds, and would continue to shine for the rest of the day. Brunk and Elsenbaumer tied for second with a time of 11.02.

Smith then won the long jump with a distance of 7.2 meters, placing himself atop the Group A leaderboard with a point total of 1,734 after two events. Brunk finished second again with a distance of 7.04 meters, and Eilers and Elsenbaumer finished third and fourth with distances of 7.01 and 6.97 meters, respectively.

In the third event, Smith notched a personal record with a shot put distance of 12-72.

"It's a lot of frustration come out because I didn't PR in the shot put once last year, so it's a PR from two years ago," Smith said. "The shot put is by far my worst event. I just got 60 points more in that event than I've ever scored before. It's a little satisfying because I've been really frustrated for a very long time in that event, so it feels good."

Most athletes are running for a provisional qualifying score of 6,200 points, but the Chico State seniors are running for an automatic qualifying score of 7,000 points, said Chico State head coach Oliver Hanf.

"We try to peak at the end of the year, but for decathletes, there are limited opportunities," Hanf said. "It's like running a marathon — there's only so much the body can handle."

In the women's heptathlon, Kristen Brunk and Jessica Mixon are on target to score NCAA Provisional marks when the Chico Multi resumes with the final three events today.

Brunk, a redshirt freshman, sat atop the heptathlon's B standings Thursday, earning 2,360 points, with Mixon in second with 2,345 points. Brunk posted personal bests in all four events, winning the 200-meter dash (26.08 seconds), placing second in the 100-meter hurdles (16.74 seconds), second in the shot put (30-feet-0.25) and sixth in the high jump (4-feet-05.5).

Mixon won two heptathlon events Thursday, placing first in the 100-meter hurdles (16.48 seconds) and the shot put (a personal-best 31-feet-07.25). The junior came in second in the 200-meter dash (28.61 seconds) and tied for second in the high jump (4-feet-10.25).

Day two begins this afternoon at 12:30 with the 110-meter hurdles, followed by the discus, pole vault, javelin and 1,500-meter run.